Behind Schneider Electric's Acquisition of AI Firm Cognite Schneider Electric has agreed to acquire industrial data and AI software specialist Cognite in a US$3.1bn deal, reinforcing its strategy to deliver smarter energy management and industrial automation technologies. Operating in more than 100 countries and employing around 160,000 people, Schneider Electric develops solutions that help buildings, data centres, infrastructure and electricity grids operate more efficiently through connected digital systems. The acquisition is expected to further strengthen the company's ability to support organisations as they modernise energy infrastructure and accelerate the energy transition. Founded in 2017, Cognite is known for developing industrial data and AI software designed to help organisations make better use of operational data. The company now employs more than 800 people across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific. Its cloud-native platform integrates and contextualises complex industrial information using a unified data model and knowledge graph, creating a foundation for AI-driven decision making across industrial operations. In 2025, Cognite generated more than US$170m in annual revenue, while annual recurring revenue bookings increased by 36% alongside growing adoption of its Atlas AI platform. Supporting the next stage of the energy transition As industrial AI evolves beyond analytics into real-time operational execution, companies increasingly require trusted, high-quality data to underpin autonomous decision making. Cognite's platform has been developed to provide that foundation by combining industrial data with agentic AI capabilities. This allows organisations to embed AI across plant operations, engineering processes and asset management, helping improve efficiency and operational performance. For Schneider Electric, the acquisition also enhances the capabilities of its AVEVA software business. The addition of Cognite complements AVEVA's CONNECT industrial intelligence platform, expanding its ability to support customers throughout the design, construction, operation and optimisation of industrial assets. By combining Cognite's scalable architecture with CONNECT, customers will be